The present invention relates to call management and more particularly to managing calls on a queue.
Many business and customer service organizations rely upon call processing centers to service incoming customer telephone calls. As the number of incoming calls increases, however, the quantity of calls may exceed the capacity of the answering system, thus necessitating a call queuing system. In such a system, incoming calls are placed in a queue and typically answered in turn such that the first received call is answered first, for example.
Callers with calls on a queue have been frustrated by long wait times while waiting on queues because they have had to commit large amounts of time in order to have their calls answered. Moreover, during the wait, callers are unable to engage in other activities for fear of missing the opportunity in the event that the call is answered while the caller is momentarily away with the only alternative being losing one""s place in the queue. Therefore, callers who do not wish to risk missing their opportunity to speak with a party on the receiving end of a call must stay on the line or, at the very least, remain close to the phone.
FIG. 1 illustrates the prior art method of call queuing and answering. A caller""s incoming call is received (step 100) and placed on a queue (step 101). As calls are answered and removed from the queue, typically on a first-in-first-out basis, for example, all calls on the queue are sequenced (step 102). In this way, the caller""s incoming call progresses through the queue in turn until his/her incoming call reaches the top of the queue (i.e., the next call to be answered). When the caller""s incoming call reaches the top of the queue (step 103) and a call is to be answered, the caller""s incoming call is answered (step 104).
The prior art method as illustrated in FIG. 1 does not allow the caller to reserve a position on the queue in such a way as to provide the caller with the freedom to leave the queue unattended without risking losing one""s place in the queue. As a result, the caller must remain on the line and in close proximity to the communication device while waiting on the queue.
Thus, a need exists in the art to enable a caller on a queue to suspend a call on the queue such that the caller may leave a communication device unattended for a desired amount of time without losing one""s place in the queue.
In an exemplary embodiment according to the present invention, a call may be received from a caller, placed in a queue and may advance in the queue. The call may be suspended at a predetermined position such as a present position in the queue determined by the caller or the system such that the call does not advance in the queue, thus permitting the caller to leave the communication device unattended for a desired amount of time without losing one""s place in the queue. Suspension of advancement of the call in the queue may be maintained such that other calls in the queue may bypass the call until a command is received from the caller to resume advancement of the call in the queue, for example. Also, suspension of advancement of the call in the queue may be maintained while other calls on the queue bypass the call until a predetermined number of calls bypass the call at which time advancement of the call in the queue may be resumed. Alternatively, suspension of advancement of the call in the queue may be maintained for a predetermined period of time after which time, advancement of the call in the queue may be automatically resumed.
In another exemplary embodiment according to the present invention, a call may be received from a caller, placed in a queue and may advance in the queue. The caller may request information from the system which may include a wait time estimate, including an estimate of the required wait time until the call is answered; a request for queue length such as the number of calls in the queue ahead of the call, which may include a report from the system on the current position in the queue; a request for a change in communication mechanism such that the caller may record a voice mail message, send an e-mail, send a page or send a fax; a request for a change in wait time such that the call may be answered out of turn; or a request for a wait time limit such that the caller may not wait longer than the specified wait time limit.
It is understood that the present invention can take many forms and embodiments. The embodiments shown herein are intended to illustrate rather than to limit the invention, it being appreciated that numerous variations may be made without departing from the spirit of the scope of the invention.